VISUAL LECTURE
POEM 5 I embraced a building today P. 158
POEM 6 Gray mundane world P. 198
POEM 7
That moment when P. 254
Imagine, trying to make progress, high on a tightrope, blindfolded, navigating by a sense of smell, without being able to assume which direction is forward
isBalance one ofthe most fundamentalofandleastunderstoodaspects the inner and outerworld we live in. We are in a constant state ofreadjustment. towardtechnology towardaging towardfindingcontentment thereallwhile tryingarewindscomingfrommultipledirections, toblowyouoffthatprecariouswire. responsibilitiesdesires,differingconcerns,
This can describe the life condition of any of us.
It could be said that Walter Gropius laid the cornerstone
of modern architecture in 1919 by founding the Bauhaus. As a result, modern architecture is now over 100 years old. This first century of modernism has come to a close with a mixed review. Enthusiasm for its achievements goes hand in hand with a discontent about a sizable portion of its outcome, as well as its effect on the natural and built environments. The most vocal supporters of these modernist ideals crafted epic claims that modernism was bound to deliver progressive and humane environments. Alas, the followthrough of those promises was uneven at best.
Can we update this ideological framework, establishing a new outlook that is both open-ended and operational? If the first century of modernism can be considered an architecture of abstraction and ideas, then what might we design if we turn our attention, in this second century of modernism, to an architecture of emotional abundance? Second Century Modernism creates an architecture of richness and community by placing a higher priority on emotional meaning, through a shift in the design process that balances the rational with the intuitive, and a “Less + More” approach to expanding the range of cultural values we can inclusively balance in our environments. It welcomes you to embrace the paradoxical qualities of human existence.
First Century Modernism
The promises made by “First Century Modernism” are still worthy of being fulfilled,
but a fundamental aspect has eroded in the past 60 years. Indeed, a cornerstone of purpose in architecture is the capacity to affect human emotions, to lift the human spirit. This is what creates the bonds that make societies strong. Modern architecture, in countless manifestos written during the avant-garde period, did help give a programmatic direction to architectural action in the 20th century. Alas, in the myriad of design languages that were produced in that short time frame, modern architecture shines in far too few occasions, especially when compared to the global production of banal and mundane buildings.
What followed was postmodernism, a mannerist period made palatable with irony. It offered a retreat from the collective alarm toward a raging modernity in the built environment, but resulted in a questionable architectural outcome that was short-lived when compared
Bauhaus Dessau, 1925–1926, Walter Gropius, photograph by Lucia Moholy
Dynamic Balance
We all exist in a Balance Dynamic with the world
We asked ourselves:
When did the world become so gray?
When did the public fall out of love with the built environment?
When did our profession polarize so deeply between the pragmatic and the self-indulgent?
When did we begin to neglect the people we pledged to care for?
We could debate the causal merits of modernism in this disconnection, the difficulty in translating a minimalist approach to a wider culture. Have we exhausted the conceit yet “that the public just needs to catch up”?
DISCONNECTED
Architecture Continues To Implode: More Insiders Admit The Profession Is Failing
Frank Gehry Is Right: 98% Of Architecture Today 'Has No Respect For Humanity'
Is our cultural media’s obsession with “Starchitecture” the real issue we should address?
This is the architecture we live with, the 80%, the ordinary ...
Temptations Toward Abundance
Postmodern
Postmodern Mannerism with Irony
Collaboration
YOU ARE HERE SECOND CENTURY MODERNISM
Intertwined Eternities
A place to meditate, to meander, to mourn, to record, to remember, to recommit. Intertwined Eternities embraces a dynamic between heaven and earth, between life and death, eternal yet unanswerable questions that require a combination of an open mind and a gentle heart.
The architecture of the columbarium approaches these questions in a meaningful way, turning to symbolism as a means to engage the intellect, and heightening the emotional experience to spark the imagination. The role of the architecture here invites the participation of the visitor in a way that asks profound questions, that encourages one to explore, rather than attempting to provide simple answers to complex issues.
A choreographed sequence of open-air stone pavilions, the columbarium reads like a meeting of intertwining outdoor rooms. The weight and sense of permanence offered by its high stone walls contrast with the lightness and ever-changing seasonality of the surrounding landscape framed by picturesque apertures punctuating the walls. Here, architecture and nature exist in state of equipoise.
Legend has it that winds formed the rocky and harsh landscape of Jeju Island before the first inhabitants ventured upon its shores. Centuries later, the island is known for its natural wonders and as a popular travel destination, so much so that it is the primary wedding and honeymoon spot in South Korea. The expansion and renovation of Jeju International Airport attempts to formalize the legacy of these strong winds responsible for the island’s landscape.
The mystery of this project was how to fuse into a coherent design vision the geography of a region with aspiration for technological advancement. The contextual pressures of the site and nature were used as an inspirational source.
Broadly sweeping stainless steel roofs create a dynamic flow that expresses both the strength and beauty of the winds. As the defining design metaphor for the scheme, the winds determine the curvilinear geometry of the design. Throughout, the notion of wind is revealed in the massing of the addition, the shape of the canopies, and the circulation of the interiors.
Abstracted wind currents sculpt the interior and the exterior in the tripartite layout. This is realized in the design of the terminal ramp, particularly in the wings at the edges of the ramps that stretch the building horizontally to express the flow of users. Elsewhere, slanted cylindrical volumes and canted walls, reminiscent of local rocks and stones, suggest the coastline and encourage passengers to pause before they board the airplanes situated along the rounded plan.
Portal of the Winds
Few forces are as expressive as the power of the wind to shape form, yet it is an ethereal flow that eludes our human sight
Sea Song
In the immeasurable natural beauty of Big Sur on the California coast, Sea Song is unobtrusive by design; it is both private from the main road and utterly transparent to what lies ahead. Likened to a trio of gliding manta rays, its environmental footprint is virtually nil and causes minimum disturbance to the site.
The sculpturally minimalistic geometry of the three pavilions is fluid, unbroken, and in motion. Their arrangement provides a continuum with no set boundaries between the inside and the outside. Internally, it is an immaterial enclosure with no corridors, only livable space. The three structures are alike in mass and architectural elements but scaled differently to adhere to the specific program requirements. Concrete core anchors forms to the earth where the programmatic parts reside. Everything else floats in inebriating lightness. In each, the enclosed concrete split core holds service functions, giving maximum open areas to the mostly column-free surrounding vistas.
Every chance to open the sightlines to the ocean was taken in these natural lyrical forms. In entering each pavilion at their midpoint, a gap between the heavy concrete cores gives glimpses of the vastness to expect beyond that threshold, anticipation and reward upon coming inside. The interior surfaces exhibit refined and warm natural materials and carefully positioned art pieces, yet are purposefully left plain to become background to its majestic outside. Wood roofs float ethereally above the concrete cores with a delicate lightness of touch.
The house is an architectural creature breathing with its natural surroundings. This trio of spaces is designed to be self-sustaining, net zero energy, and aims at LEED Platinum certification. The full array of sustainable techniques is employed, consolidating the architecture as a natural extension of this site. Photovoltaics ease off-the-grid living. Self-cleaning glass, rainwater retention cistern, and xeriscape secure the sensible use of water sources. The landscaping is intentionally kept nonformal to reinforce the intent that Sea Song has always belonged to this site.
In the immeasurable natural beauty of Big Sur this harmonic of solid and light grounds a sense of belonging of being an integral part of this earth
Innovation Curve
The dynamic architecture of the Innovation Curve at Stanford Research Park celebrates the creative process of technology, which is fundamental to the international success of Silicon Valley. The two-story peaks and valleys of sweeping blue metal curves serve as architectural metaphors for the highs and lows of exploratory research and development; creative sparks and the pragmatic analysis of ideas descend to transition into long, horizontal bands symbolizing the implementation phase of invention.
On the dusty edges of a distant playa an inclusive museum tempts you to embrace community and kindness through participatory art
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Author
John Jennifer Marx, AIA, is a cofounding principal and chief artistic officer of Form4 Architecture in San Francisco, California. He is responsible for developing Form4 Architecture’s design vision and philosophical language. In order to return a sense of humanity back into architecture, he advocates for the inclusion of philosophy, art, and poetry in the thoughtful making of place by creating emotionally resonant architecture and urban spaces. He is a student of absurdity, paradox, kindness, and art.
John’s design work and writing have been published in over 100 national and international publications. In 2018, the Architectural Review published his monograph “The Absurdity of Beauty: Rebalancing the Modernist Narrative.” He has widely lectured on the topics of design, placemaking, emotional meaning and cultural vibrancy in Silicon Valley and places as diverse as South Korea, Italy, Austria, Australia, Canada, and Israel.
Form4 Architecture has received over 230 design awards and, in 2017, John became a Laureate of the American Prize for Architecture. Curated by The Chicago Athenaeum and The European Centre for Architecture, the award is recognized nationally and internationally as one of America’s highest public tributes for architecture in the United States. The American Prize for Architecture is bestowed to an “outstanding practitioner in the United States that has emblazoned a new direction in the history of American Architecture with talent, vision, and commitment and has demonstrated consistent contributions to humanity through the built environment and through the art of architecture.” The Chicago Athenaeum president cited Form4’s “‘vision of the future’ and all the artistic possibilities of imagination, emotional meaning, and lyrical expressionism for a consequential better and more enlightened world around us.”
He also won the 2017 Upstart Award, which honors the most innovative, disruptive, and creative business professionals throughout the San Francisco Bay Area.
John served on the board of the Magic Theatre in San Francisco from 2009 through 2020 and was its chair over five years. The Magic Theatre honored him with the Sam Shephard Legacy Award in 2018. John served on the board of the San Francisco Art Institute, one of the oldest and most prestigious art schools in the United States, from 2020 to 2023, with two years as co-chair.
The European Cultural Centre showed John Jennifer Marx’s work at the Venice Architecture Biennale in Italy in 2016. In 2018, they exhibited his research “2nd Century Modernism: Reflections on Abundance,” in both Venice and Moscow. In 2021, John exhibited his watercolors and poetry at Palazzo Mora during the Venice Biennale. In 2023, the Museum of No Spectators was the subject of an exhibition at the Palazzo Mora. The museum is currently located at Art City in Tucumcari, New Mexico.
In 2020, ORO Editions published an award-winning book entitled Études: The Poetry of Dreams + Other Fragments. This book focuses on 84 of John's watercolor paintings as well as 42 poems. In 2020, Études won an Indie Book Award for Illustration, and in 2021, John received the James Gates Percival International Prize for Literature. The Prize commemorates and pays tribute to the American Poet James Gates Percival (1795–1856) who is considered America’s first poet shortly after the Revolutionary War.
In 2023, John Jennifer Marx edited an advocacy monograph with The Architectural Review on gender entitled “Towards Abundance: The Delightful Paradoxes of Gender,” which debuted during the 2023
Venice Biennale. This publication seeks to deeply explore issues of gender in design, and how gender norms currently restrain the profession from fully embracing an inclusive world.
John has been going to Burning Man since 2015 and has also written about the importance of its participatory culture with regard to the design process and as a catalyst for social change. He has participated as a poet in poetry readings, as an artist—creating wearable art collages—and was the architect and co-lead artist on two art projects.
Originally from the Midwest, John has lived in San Francisco since 1981, with his wife Nikki Beach who is an internationally sought-after maker of architectural model trees. They share a home designed by John and inspired by the painter Piet Mondrian.
About Form4
Form4 is a unique firm in our commitment to the balance of three things: extending the range of cultural inclusion, advocating for humanism and emotional meaning, and artistically exploring lyrical expressionism. It is our ambition to respond to the spirit of our times relative to the notion that architecture has disengaged with society and is losing its cultural relevance.
We are embracing a fundamental change in the way architects design, with the intention of rebalancing modernism toward an architecture of emotional abundance, adding to its current focus on an architecture of abstraction and ideas. This involves rebalancing the role of emotional meaning in design intent, as well as evaluating the impact of what we create on the public at large.
Form4 is a Second Century Modernist firm where we measure success by our contributions to society as we balance expressive design, rigor, empathy, and sustainability to create captivating buildings and spaces that resonate with people and enhance their lives. In our exploration of emotional meaning, we find that the most sustainable things in life are those things you won't throw away because you love them too much. In a sense, you will fight for and preserve the things you love.
Our advocacy has taken 10 paths:
1 Emotional Meaning—Visual Poems
The Architect’s Newspaper 2015
Venice Biennale 2016
2 “The Absurdity of Beauty: Rebalancing the Modernist Narrative,” The Architectural Review 2018
3 Second Century Modernism
Venice Biennale 2018
Moscow 2019
4 Cultural Vibrancy Burning Man 2015–Present
5 Creative Community Workshops
Esalen 2019
Freiburg 2019
Italian Pavilion, Venice Biennale 2021
6 Art is an Essential Service (Covid) Études: The Poetry of Dreams, ORO Editions 2020
Venice Biennale 2021
7 Gender in Design “Towards Abundance: The Delightful Paradoxes of Gender,” The Architectural Review 2023
Abitare 2023
Pecha Kucha, Design Museum 2024
8 Embracing Paradox
Common Edge WAF 2024
9 AI/Metaverse 10 articles for ArchDaily
10 Memoir + Monograph Machine Books ORO Editions
“In order to return a sense of humanity to design, we advocate for a rebalancing of modernism with emotional meaning and poetic design.”
